NASHVILLE HOTEL

Probably the best known old building in Nashville is the old hotel. What is not known, however, is the exact date of its construction. The hotel is a wooden structure; a log building built in three sections. Originally the hotel was called The American House and records indicate it was remodeled in 1865 by Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Harris who renamed it The Sherman House.

Through the years the old hotel building has had many different uses other than hotel accommodations. It was, in part, a general store around the time of the Civil War and the Harrises advertised that The Sherman House had “A No. 1 barn for horses and carriages and good livery with same”. In the early 1890s, a portion of the hotel’s basement was also a storeroom for caskets and furniture. At various times parts of the building housed a hardware store, a harness-making shop, saloon, dry-goods store, grocery store, and millinery. These diverse businesses were often operated by various merchants.

Another part of the building was known as the Stone Jug section because it was made of large sandstone blocks. This section was used as a horse sale barn and a garage. Later, the local Knights of Pythias built their lodge hall over a basement section of the building. After World War I, they discontinued their meetings and the hall found many new uses: town hall, recreation center, apartment house, and barber shop. Today the old hotel is in use as living quarters.

An interesting side note — When the Harris family moved to Holmes County in 1817 and settled near Nashville, John Harris brought his emancipated negro slave with him as he migrated to Ohio. This man was called “Black Jake Harris”. After John’s death in 1863, Jake continued to live with the Harris children, spending his final days with Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Harris. The Harrises ran the well-known Sherman House Hotel and Black Jake helped out around this business and also worked as a janitor for the Nashville Methodist Church until his death. He is buried in the Nashville Cemetery beside the church.

Line drawing of The Sherman House Hotel in Nashville (From The 1875 Holmes County Atlas)	The American House, mid 1800s, later renamed The Sherman House
Main Street In Nashville, Ca 1905, looking West toward the old hotel but blocked by trees and showing only its two chimneys	The old hotel as it looks today

MILLERSBURG OPERA HOUSE

The Millersburg Opera House was a city building, a combination of city hall and Opera House. It was a large, elegant two-story structure with arched windows and an impressive, ornate tower. The building was built in 1890 and was constructed of brick and sandstone. It was located in downtown Millersburg on the corner of Jackson and Monroe Streets. The structure housed several village offices and the Millersburg Fire Department in addition to the Opera House. In early years the building was also used as a voting precinct during election years. The fire station part of the building was located on the east end of the structure. It had sandstone pillars, wooden floors, and two large wooden doors at the front of the building that provided fire engines with easy access to Jackson Street. The Opera House portion of the building was entered from Jackson Street through a very large arched vestibule entry and front door . Upon entering, there was a lobby and a ticket booth before progressing to the main theatre. Upstairs was the balcony. The Opera House could seat 250 to 300 people in its main seating section plus the balcony area!

Millersburg Opera House and City Hall ca. 1910 Click here to see full-size photos

In the early years the Opera House was used as a public entertainment center. It housed various performances, pageants, stage plays, etc., and local residents often took part in these presentations. After moving pictures became widely available, first-run movies were shown in the Opera House. It was the only movie theater in town and films ran seven days a week. Admission tickets were only six cents for a long time but eventually increased to a dime. On Wednesdays various merchants would sponsor movies at the Opera House and patrons could attend free of charge. Over the years the Opera House was used by many people and organizations: the Boy Scouts, a rifle range, and some can even remember playing basketball on the Opera House stage. Indeed, for years the Opera House provided the community with much good entertainment as well as a meeting place for various groups.

As time passed, however, a new movie theater was built on Clay Street, and the Opera House lost much of its business to this newer movie theater. Gradually the Opera House seemed to lose much of its usefulness, and the interior of the building fell into shambles over the years. Ultimately the fire department and village offices relocated to more modern accommodations, and finally the old Opera House was demolished in 1954 to make way for a parking lot.

MAXWELL’S CLOTHING STORE

Maxwell’s Clothing Store was established in Millersburg in 1866. The store is historically significant in that it was a family-owned business spanning four generations; and after much research in 1998, it was believed to be the oldest family-owned clothing store in the United States. The generations of Maxwells in chronological order were:

• First generation - Robert Maxwell and his brother J.T.
• Second generation - H.B. (Hod) and J.W., sons of Robert
• Third generation - H.R. (Chiddy), son of Hod
• Fourth generation - H. Richard (Dick) and John R., sons of H.R.

Maxwell’s Water Jug

After the Civil War Robert and J.T. built a men’s clothing store next to the old Central Hotel (now Hotel Millersburg.). At that time Jackson Street was a dirt road, and water had to be obtained from a spigot on the courthouse lawn. So that customers could have a fresh drink, the water was then carried in an earthenware jug to the store. (This jug can currently be seen at the Victorian House Museum). In early days The Millersburg Telephone Company provided only local phone service to the area but not long distance. So, Maxwell’s Clothing Store provided space for a public-use phone booth at the rear of their store, and this booth was connected to an Ohio Bell long distance line. An Ohio Bell sign hung outside the store to inform the community about the booth for long-distance calls. This phone service was managed and attended to by the managers of the Maxwell store.

Through the years, Maxwell’s Clothing Store was recognized as a leader in the lines of goods carried by them. Their store was completely filled with all that was desirable in gentlemen’s and boys’ clothing. The latest styles and an enormous stock provided truly fine furnishings. Everything a man or boy could want in the matter of dress (except shoes) was found here — and there was never a charge for fitting.

In 1876 a front half of a future second story was added with an outside entrance for use as a law office. In 1907 a full second floor was completed and occupied by the store. A decorative tin ceiling, skylight, and hard-rock maple floor were also installed. New display windows with marble bases were added as were a center display case and a tiled entry floor. In 1988 a very extensive restoration was begun. Removal of pegboards from the display windows revealed beautiful paneled cherry wood in one window and a mirrored wall in the other. The maple floor was also resorted to its former beauty at this time. In 1990 the exterior of the building was restored using rich colors of gray, burgundy, and gold.

Maxwell’s Clothing Store

Over the years, the Maxwells were obliging and accommodating, and all four generations were very civic minded. But, former generations did not have the problems that face the smaller retail merchants of today — and sadly the Maxwell Store closed its doors on December 31, 2001, after 135 years in business.